A portion of the disclosure of this patent document and its figures contain material subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, but otherwise reserves all copyrights whatsoever.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of telecommunications, and, in particular, to a side-mounted, umbrella holder bracket for telecommunication cabinets.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the telecommunications or electronics industry, it is common practice to locate free-standing hardware and equipment outdoors. Typically, this hardware and equipment includes a surrounding cabinet to protect from ambient weather and other environmental conditions. As used herein, the term xe2x80x9ccabinetxe2x80x9d includes terminals, closures, enclosures, housings, and other devices used to protect outdoor telecommunications and/or electrical hardware and equipment. Cabinets may be polygon or non-polygonally shaped and constructed of any appropriate material, such as, for example, metal, polymer, plastic, ceramic, glass, crystal, and/or combinations thereof.
Occasionally, it is necessary for technicians to service this hardware and equipment. When service is required during adverse weather conditions, the hardware and equipment needs protection while the cabinet doors are open. Typically, the technician and the hardware and equipment are protected by a large umbrella which is held or otherwise supported by the technician over an open cabinet. The umbrella also protects a work area in front of the open cabinet. However, it is during such adverse weather conditions that positioning of the umbrella over the cabinet is a most difficult procedure to follow. For instance, such umbrellas are usually employed during windy and rainy conditions that make their controlled maneuverability by a single person (e.g., the technician) very difficult, tiring and time-consuming. Further, the technician does not have a great deal of room to work under the umbrella and frequently must use one hand to assist in securing the position of the umbrella, thus making it more difficult for the technician to gain access to the hardware and equipment.
This invention addresses the above-described and other needs by providing a portable umbrella holder that is securable to a telecommunications cabinet or to an electrical cabinet. The umbrella holder provides greater environmental protection of the cabinet and of the hardware and equipment contained within the cabinet and increases access of the surrounding work area. Further, the umbrella holder is multi-functional in that it can engage a top portion of an open cabinet door for support to position the umbrella, and, alternatively, it can wedge under a top edge of the cabinet to frictionally retain the umbrella in position when an umbrella pole is secured in the umbrella holder.
In an embodiment, this invention includes an umbrella holder for a telecommunications cabinet that has a hollow, upwardly extending open passageway having at least one generally cylindrical side portion, a substantially planar base portion, a top, and a bottom; a hook having a shank extending upwardly with the substantially planar base portion, the hook further having a handle portion with a backing plate extending downwardly from the handle portion; and a arm extending upwardly from the handle portion. The passageway comprises an aperture (e.g., an opening) for receiving a first end of a generally cylindrical section of an umbrella pole. Typically, the umbrella holder is secured to an umbrella pole of an umbrella that the technician carries with him to each job site. The umbrella pole is placed or secured in the aperture of the umbrella holder, thus, making the umbrella holder portable with the umbrella. When a technician arrives at a job site, he/she can then position the umbrella holder over a top portion of an open telecommunications cabinet door or can wedge it under a top edge of the telecommunications cabinet. Once the umbrella holder is set in a desired position over the work area, the umbrella portion can be opened to provide protection from precipitation and sun and allow the technician to work hands free.
In another embodiment, the umbrella holder further includes a companion apparatus, a support bracket, for additional support of the umbrella. The support bracket has a second hollow, upwardly extending open passageway having a second generally cylindrical side portion, a substantially planar bracket base portion, a second top, and a second bottom wherein the second passageway defines a second aperture for positioning the first end of the generally cylindrical section of the umbrella pole. The support bracket includes means for mounting the substantially planar bracket base portion to a side wall of the telecommunications cabinet, such as, for example a pair of substantially planar arms extending outwardly from the base portion that may be secured to the cabinet with nuts, bolts, screws, rivets, welding, and other means known in the art.
In another embodiment, this invention includes the telecommunications cabinet having a plurality of side walls, a top, and at least one door providing access to an interior of the cabinet, the umbrella holder and/or the support bracket described in the above embodiments. The interior of the cabinet houses hardware and equipment for sending and receiving telecommunications signals or electrical hardware and equipment.
Finally, this invention includes a method of supporting an umbrella that includes positioning the above-described umbrella holder with the umbrella to a telecommunications cabinet. The method may further include positioning a generally cylindrical section of an umbrella pole into the above-described support bracket attached to a lower portion of a door of the telecommunications cabinet. The umbrella holder is positioned either by engaging the hook over a top portion of the door or by securing the umbrella pole within the passageway and wedging the arm under a top edge of the telecommunications cabinet, such that the umbrella holder frictionally retains the umbrella holder with the umbrella in a desired position.